Over the course of 110 pages, this book gives a comprehensive tour of Edinburgh’s most iconic and historic landmarks, making it not just any coloring book but rather an artistic form of guidebook. A lovely map at the beginning of the book shows the locations of many of the sites on the pages that follow. The book is further broken down by season to give a flavor of the city during the winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

Beginning with winter, the book invites you inside Jenner’s Department Store to see its Christmas decorations, gives a view of many of the festive doors of Edinburgh, makes you thirsty for a cup of mulled cider at the German Market in the Princes Street Gardens, and reminds you of the amazing fireworks on Hogmanay (the Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration).

With spring we move to the Royal Mile, Dean Village, and Victoria Street. Doctor Neil’s Garden and Arthur’s Seat are alive with new growth and an abundance of new flowers. Cherry blossoms grace The Meadows and an ice cream van shows up in Portobello. Each season comes with clothing items to color. Spring brings a page of “wellies” in all kinds of patterns and designs.

Summer takes us to the water’s edge at Leith, a picnic in The Meadows, and the outside of the Scottish Parliament. Circus Lane is in its glory with climbing roses and blooming shrubs. The Princes Street Gardens become a shaded haven for resting on an almost-hot day. The Royal Yacht Britannia beckons from Ocean Terminal, and the statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby is framed by the colorful window boxes behind it.

In the autumn we return to Dean Village for the show of foliage, then stop at The Sheep Head in Duddingston for some refreshment. Ramsay Garden, sitting up nearly to the Castle, is surrounded by autumn colors and the John Knox House on the Royal Mile awaits the next round of tourists.

This coloring book is such a lovely way to dream about a trip to Edinburgh, to get to know the well-known sites as well as the hidden gems, and it is a keepsake to enjoy long after you’ve made the journey.

Travel Notes: Use this as an inspiration for planning your trip to Edinburgh!

Listening Valley by D. E. Stevenson is a delightful, vintage romance set in both Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders during World War II.

This story follows the life of Antonia Melville, a dreary little girl growing up in Edinburgh with little excitement in her life. Antonia’s sister marries early but it appears there will be no beaux for Antonia herself. Quite surprisingly, a delightful, older man (Robert) takes an interest in Antonia and with his love Antonia begins to blossom into a capable, beautiful woman. The two move to London and Antonia’s husband takes up important war work. Together they weather the bombings of London. The stress and worry of Robert’s work eventually takes a toll on him and his health declines rapidly until Antonia is left a widow.

Now Antonia must learn to stand up for herself against her leech-like sister-in-law and niece-in-law. She must find a way to live on her own without them and manage her own affairs. She finds herself in the small town of Ryddelton, a fictional town in the Borders. Antonia begins to get to know her neighbors and becomes involved in entertaining soldiers from the nearby airfield. One of the soldiers (Bay) happens to be an old friend from school. Perhaps romance might develop between them except for Bay’s fiancé, a suspicious woman from France.

Listening Valley contains all the elements readers expect from D. E. Stevenson: descriptions of Scottish life, gentle romance, a return to the way life used to be, amusing characters who seem almost as if you might have met them, and of course an element of suspense that keeps us wondering if the right people will ever get together.

Travel Notes: a great vintage novel choice for reading in Edinburgh, the Scottish Borders, or Scotland in general. For more information on D. E. Stevenson check out this website.

Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson is a short, beautifully written description of Edinburgh by a classic author with a deep connection to this, his place of birth.

This book is divided into ten chapters. Stevenson gives particular attention to Edinburgh Old Town, Parliament Close, Greyfriars Kirk, New Town, Calton Hill, and the Pentlands. Stevenson describes the views, the buildings, the people that walk the streets, the legends that abound, the weather. He vividly captures in words the feelings that Edinburgh creates in the hearts of those who traverse her streets.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850 and grew up in the city, eventually becoming famous for such works as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He possessed a winsomeness with the pen that has been enjoyed by readers the world over. It is fitting that he should pay tribute to the city of his birth in the pages of this book.

“Half a capital and half a country town, the whole city leads a double existence; it has long trances of the one and flashes of the other; like the king of the Black Isles, it is half alive and half a monumental marble.”

“It was a grey, dropping day; the grass was strung with rain-drops; and the people in the houses kept hanging out their shirts and petticoats and angrily taking them in again, as the weather turned from wet to fair and back again.”

“There is no Edinburgh emigrant, far or near, from China to Peru, but he or she carries some lively pictures of the mind, some sunset behind the Castle cliffs, some snow scene, some maze of city lamps, indelible in the memory and delightful to study in the intervals of toil. For any such, if this book fall in their way, here are a few more home pictures. It would be pleasant, if they should recognize a house where they had dwelt, or a walk that they had taken.”

Travel Notes: This is an ideal book to read while you are in Edinburgh as it provides one with a beautiful introduction to each part of the city and some history behind the various sections of the city and its most famous buildings. It is also a delight to read after a visit to Edinburgh as each chapter will bring to mind memories of what was enjoyed in person.

The Silent Traveller in Edinburgh by Chiang Yee is a unique celebration of the beauty of Edinburgh from the pen and paintbrush of a Chinese resident of the UK. Reading this book is to see the same landscape of Edinburgh but to see it through different eyes and a new perspective. It is to experience the scenes of Edinburgh through a new medium — that of the Chinese paintbrush and Chinese painting technics.

Chiang Yee came to England in the 1930’s as he was not excited about the way things were heading in China. He began publishing a series of travel books titled after his pen name which translates into English as “Silent Traveller.” His books are gentle descriptions of the landscape he sees and the people he meets laced throughout with his quiet humor and of course accompanied by Yee’s own artwork. Yee travelled to Edinburgh in 1943 and published this book in 1948.

Yee enjoys interspersing his text with quotes from famous Chinese philosophers and poets. “There must surely be some charm in everything and, that being so, we should find pleasure in any experience, however small, and not be forever looking for the exceptional.” (Chao-Jan-Ting) It seems Yee took this advice to heart as he endeavors to enjoy each aspect of his visit to Edinburgh, from the majestic castle on the hill (he admits to falling under its spell) to the incessant rain he experiences.

Chiang Yee covers most of Edinburgh and its close environs in his visit: the castle, St. Giles and the Royal Mile, the University, Calton Hill, Princes Street, Holyrood Palace and Park, Arthur’s Seat, and the Royal Botanic Garden. He is quite taken with Arthur’s Seat but insists that rather than a resting lion the ancient hill most certainly looks like a sleeping elephant!

“I like Edinburgh. But I hestitate to state the fact thus boldly lest some day I meet a Glaswegian.”

Yee was told: Scott was to Scotland what Shakespeare was to England. In response: “… but from my little experience I must say that one might be able to leave England without hearing of Shakespeare but never [leave] Scotland without hearing of Scot.”

Yee’s description of Edinburgh Castle at night: “…the Castle perfectly silhouetted in the moonlight, like an enthroned queen in a black velvet gown with a wide spreading skirt, with spires and towers of her courtiers making obeisance to her.”

Travel Notes: This is a lovely companion guide for a trip to Edinburgh, stretching the mind a bit and opening the eyes to see ordinary beauty.

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